For civil and military officials, there have been quite a few things that have happened in the past few days, and many people are even a little overwhelmed by them.

Suddenly, Emperor Ying Shi fell ill and did not attend court for several days. This was not a complete abdication of court, as Emperor Hongwu was still in power. However, it was precisely because of Emperor Hongwu's presence that many unexpected events occurred in the court.

As a result, many civil and military officials now feel a bit apprehensive during each morning court session. After all, the current court structure might change, and Emperor Hongwu might make further adjustments and changes.

After the sound of the whip cracking, civil and military officials lined up in two rows and entered the Fengtian Hall according to their rank and official position. It was another morning court session, but now many people were a little apprehensive, worried that something unexpected might happen.

However, when they saw Emperor Ying Shi stride up the steps, many civil and military officials were stunned and couldn't react.

If Emperor Ying Shi's illness was preceded by some signs, such as his apparent fatigue, this time it was different. His Majesty fell ill quickly, and seems to be recovering even faster.

Zhu Yunying seemed oblivious to the astonishment and surprise of the court officials, and sat directly on the dragon throne.

This wasn't a formal court session, so the atmosphere wasn't very solemn. Zhu Yunying wasn't wearing court attire, nor were any of the officials.

Zhu Yunying glanced at the officials and said loudly, "I was a little tired a few days ago, but fortunately the Emperor Emeritus is in charge of the government and the ministers are assisting, so the government is running smoothly and I am relieved."

The officials were at a loss for words, perhaps only realizing the situation belatedly. Emperor Ying Shi had never feigned illness before, but Emperor Hongwu had certainly done so many times; much of it was a testament to the Zhu family's ancestral acting skills.

If you still can't react at this point, then it's really unacceptable, and you'll really seem a bit stupid.

Zhu Yunying disregarded all of this and said directly, "Since I am now in power, all matters of state shall remain as before. When the Emperor Emeritus is in power, all decisions shall be made in accordance with his decree."

This decision has now been finalized. Some officials were worried that Emperor Hongwu's handling of the matter might displease Emperor Yingshi, but it seems they no longer need to worry about that.

At this point, they were even more certain that Emperor Ying Shi was feigning illness. Otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted all of Emperor Hongwu's decisions without asking any questions.

What does this mean? It means that all those matters were discussed and decided upon by Emperor Hongwu and Emperor Yingshi. Even if Emperor Yingshi wasn't attending court, he was aware of those matters and they were all approved by him; otherwise, how could things have gone so smoothly!

These are all obvious facts. After all, if Emperor Yingshi really did not approve of some of Emperor Hongwu's practices, even if it was not convenient to overthrow him directly now, he could passively resist and readjust things in a few days.

But things are different now. Even if it's only a matter of time before everyone realizes, they can understand what Emperor Yingshi has been doing during this period, and they can also understand some of Emperor Yingshi's little schemes.

Now that the opening remarks have been made, the next step is naturally to proceed with the formal morning court proceedings.

Wang Chengen stepped forward. "Does the Court of State Ceremonial have any urgent business?"

Officials from the Court of State Ceremonial immediately stepped forward to report on the officials who had left the capital. However, they were only representing those officials who had left the capital, because Zhu Yunying had no intention of summoning them. Those officials could only report to the Court of State Ceremonial and could only perform the five bows and three kowtows from afar outside the Meridian Gate.

However, after meeting with the officials who had left the capital, the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial reported, "Your Majesty, the ruler of Zhongshan is thirty li away from Yingtian Prefecture and can enter the capital today."

Zhu Yunying had a plan in mind and said, "This matter shall be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonies. Foreign envoys entering the court must not be neglected. All departments should handle this properly. We will discuss the matter of etiquette again after the King of Zhongshan submits his memorial."

Actually, everyone understands that these rules and regulations have been in place for a long time, and we just need to follow them. There's no need for everyone to panic. We already know what's going on; we just need to follow the rules.

At this moment, Chang Mao also stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Liang requests the allocation of provisions and firearms."

The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were alarmed. Lan Yu had spent a considerable amount of time training troops in the Northwest, and the expenditure had been substantial. But now, Lan Yu still seemed unsatisfied and continued to demand the allocation of provisions, pay, and firearms.

The atmosphere of an early morning court session immediately took hold, with civil and military officials starting to argue. Some demanded provisions, others money, some cried poverty, and still others impeached officials—all these demands were now being made, making this a perfectly normal early morning court session.

Zhu Yunying was all too familiar with this situation; he felt no emotion whatsoever, and was simply used to it.

Zhu Yunying was well aware of the discontent with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, as well as the dissatisfaction among some civil officials. Ultimately, the reason was that the court's war in Goryeo was not yet completely over, and it seemed they were already planning a military campaign against the Oirat Mongols in the northwest, which naturally caused concern among many.

There were concerns about the continued strength of the military clique, or even its increasing strength. There were also concerns about the exhaustion and recklessness caused by constant military campaigns, and that another major defeat could potentially damage the court's vitality.

Such concerns also included a desire to impose limitations on the emperor. After all, the Ming Dynasty had never ceased its military campaigns throughout its many years of existence. Whether it was the Northern Expeditions or the suppression of separatist regimes and rebellions in the southwest, the campaigns never stopped.

Moreover, there are ongoing military campaigns against Japan and Goryeo, which have been ongoing and are growing in scale. Previously, only the Northern Expedition and the campaign against Ming Xia were relatively large-scale, but this time the military campaign against Goryeo is no small matter.

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